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(Oak Ridge press release) The City of Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Police Department are notifying drivers of a planned road closure on the morning of Saturday, June 9, 2018, for a Veterans’ Parade that is part of the Secret City Festival celebration.

The parade route runs from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) parking lot off of Badger Avenue to ORAU Way. Participants will then make a right turn onto Oak Ridge Turnpike and end in the Oak Ridge Public Library parking lot.

The closure will affect all lanes of Oak Ridge Turnpike from the intersection with North and South Tulane Avenue to just west of Robertsville Road. Part of Robertsville Road, ORAU Way and Badger Avenue will also be closed to traffic.

The closures will begin at 8:30 a.m. on June 9 and are expected to remain in effect until approximately 10 a.m. Drivers are advised to avoid the affected areas during this time and plan to use alternate routes.

Oak Ridge Police Department personnel will be enforcing the closures and re-directing traffic. Drivers should expect delays and are urged to use extra caution while the parade is underway.

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Several events are being held this week before the Secret City Festival on Friday and Saturday, including a Children’s Movie Night featuring “Despicable Me 3” at the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School at 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 6.

There will also be a Battle of the Bands at the pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, presented by United Way of Anderson County, the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, and MERLE FM.

There festival itself, on Friday, June 8, and Saturday, June 9, features a wide array of activities for everyone in the family.

The main stage concert on Friday night will feature Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx. The opening band is The Band Legacy. The show starts at 7 p.m.

The main stage concert on Saturday night will feature the Little River Band. The opening band is Oliver Springs native and former ‘American Idol’ contestant Janelle Arthur. That show also starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available online or at Citizens First Bank at 1298 Oak Ridge Turnpike for $25.

Beer (and this year cider) will be available at the concerts.

Organizers said there will be more crafters than ever at this year’s festival, more food trucks—with a focus on local vendors—and a kid’s area that will be double the size of previous years, that will include bounce houses, water slides, laser tag, and more.

Friday events include:

A.K. Bissell Park—opening ceremony, music, magic, a juggler, a K-9 search demonstration, and best of of Battle of the Bands;

Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium—historic talks that will include discussions of spies, nuclear medicine, the Secret City, Chapel on the Hill, and the Friendship Bell, and a lecture by the U.S. Department of Energy’s “gadget guru”; and

Main Stage—concert with The Band Legacy, and Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx.

Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium—historic talks that will include discussions of spies and assassins and Chapel on the Hill, a lecture by the U.S. Department of Energy’s “gadget guru,” and another by a preschool teacher who became a university president;

The 2018 Secret City Festival, celebrating the City of Oak Ridge’s 75th anniversary, is June 8 and 9.

Organizers say volunteers are needed to help make sure all the festivities run smoothlyy, including a giant knock-out game to set a world record, a 75th Anniversary Parade, and the usual craft vendors, food vendors, and music.

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About Jim Harris

Jim Harris has been WYSH's News & Sports Director since 2000.
In addition to reporting local news, he is the play-by-play voice for Clinton High School football, boys' and girls' basketball and baseball.
Catch Jim live weekdays beginning at 6:20 am for live local news, sports, weather and traffic plus the Community Bulletin Board, shenanigans with Ron Meredith and more on the Country Club Morning Show on WYSH & WQLA.
Jim lives in Clinton with his wife Kelly and daughter Carolina, his mother-in-law and cats Lucius and Oliver.